Facing our Problems

(This Sunday School lesson is based upon a lesson created ("Deal With It, Orange"; The reThink Group, Inc))

Okay, let’s start with a question. What’s taking up the most space in your brain right now? In other words, what do you find yourself thinking about the most? If you tried to sit quietly and let your mind wander, what would be the thing that pops up over and over again?
 
For some of us, it’s a great thing:

• A trip we’re looking forward to.
• A new guy or girl we’re interested in.
• Or a driver’s license that’s just around the corner.

 
When something awesome is on our minds, we want it to stay there. 
 
But for a lot of us, the thing that’s taking up most of our brain space right now isn’t fun at all. And we wish it was out of our minds. Like…

•  A fight with a friend.
• Corona craziness
• Drama at home.
• Or the anxiety we feel about how we look or what other people possibly think of us.

 
When we’re occupied with things that aren’t that great, we want to shut those thoughts down, fast. Dealing with it is the last thing we want to do.

See, the problem with bad or difficult circumstances is not simply that they’re difficult to get through. The problem is that the resulting distractions have a tendency to lead to 
bad choices.
 
Sometimes, we look for a distraction—something we enjoy that take our mind off of our problems. But many times, we go the more damaging route.
 
We don’t just look for a distraction. We look for an escape.
The problem with bad or difficult circumstances is not simply that they’re difficult to get through. The problem is that the resulting distractions have a tendency to lead to bad choices.
 
What I want you to know today is this: Choosing to do these things doesn’t actually fix anything.
 
Here’s what happens when we do these things: First, we actually risk more hurt; Second, the original pain isn’t dealt with; And third, the original pain actually gets worse.
 
Truth
So, in the Old Testament, the book of Isaiah is one of those books where, no matter what you’re going through, you can probably relate to the author.
 
But He doesn’t say that He’ll make their problems go away and disappear.
 
After we make our bad escape choices, the problem is still there. So in reality, we haven’t actually escaped anything.
 
What we need to know is something that can help us through the pain of our problems.

Even to your old age and gray hairs, I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you. With whom will you compare me or count me equal? (Isaiah 46:4-5a NIV).

In all of it, He is a God who sustains us, rescues us, and carries us—even to our old age. Sure, He promises to sustain them, which means He will literally bear the burden they’re holding—He’ll carry it.
 
But He doesn’t say that He’ll make their problems go away and disappear.
But I think most of us would admit that “escaping” our problems hasn’t worked out well for us in the past. After we make our bad escape choices, the problem is still there. So in reality, we haven’t actually escaped anything.
 
This leads us to look at these words from Isaiah a little differently. When our life feels upside down and we feel out of control, abandoned, or alone, we’re not. We have a God who is with us—from now to the end of our lives. He will carry and sustain us. He may not take us out of our circumstance, but He will get us through it. Because the truth is this: 
 
God carries us through problems, not around them.
The season we are in will eventually end. It will pass. Things will get better, but we can prolong the process and complicate the situation when we decide to escape by making bad choices

Application
Here are three things to consider when you’re trying to decide if you will face it or try to escape it.
 
Number one, name the problem. 
 
The second thing we can do? Change our perspective. 
 
And finally, make some good choices.
 
Landing
Ask yourself, “Am I trying to get around this, or am I trusting God to get me through?”
 
Remember, God carries us through problems, not around them. And you can trust Him to do 
just that.